Phantasy Star Portable 2: ExGUARDIAN Struggles
by Bznboy
Summary: The Illuminius aren't gone. They're hiding, somewhere, everywhere. I'll do whatever it takes to flush them out. However, fate has other plans for me. It's time to save the world again. Discontinued
1. Chapter 1 Act 1

_My name is Aria _

_I am a former GUARDIAN, partnering Vivienne before the wiping of the SEED remnants._

_Vivienne was thought to be a new special cast until the Illuminus revealed that she was merely a copy cast for them. She was to be dismantled after that mission but was kidnapped by them too._

_In a last ditch effort to stop their plans, Vivienne had hacked into a Lou unit and led me to the base where we stopped the Illuminus' plans. _

_We wouldn't had done so if Vivienne did not use her photon art to close the rift… _

_The GUARDIANS had expelled us as we had disobeyed orders from them. Vivienne was not dismantled fortunately…_

_We still continue to search for any other Illuminus members… Our work is far from done…_

**_Chapter 1: Spreading Wings, awakening of an angel_**

**Present Day, Seabed relic site**

I glanced around the room, all the mercenaries here seemed confident on finishing their job. The job also looks easy enough. I wonder why they are paying so much for a simple adventuring job.

A mercenary stood next to me, telling me about how the sponsor of the job must be rich to bring up so many mercenaries. I listened in without replying.

"You look like a mercenary yourself. I'm impressed you aren't here with any company."

"I took the job myself, my partner had something else." I muttered under my breath.

The mercenary did not hear me and ranted on, a sentence caught my attention.

"Of course, a place like this is bound to draw the best."

Best? Me? I doubt so. But if there are people who are good here, I wouldn't mind getting to know them. Most of the people here are in groups. I feel like I am the only one here alone, but this mercenary seems to be alone too.

"Are you one of them?"

"Who knows?" He shrugged. I giggled a little at that comment.

"They only just discovered this relic site you know? Most of it hasn't even been explored yet." He continued on.

"It's safe here for the others, right?" I turned my head to him

"Should be safe enough here. No promises further in though… uncharted territory and all."

Doesn't matter… I'm not here for the cash. I'm here to look for Illuminus. I should be able to take care of the machinery here.

"Can we just go home already? Please?" a young female voice came out of nowhere. I turned to the direction of the voice.

"This is no place for children and I wager she's no mercenary." I commented to the mercenary.

The girl continued yelling about the relic site and her partner… or sponsor… I don't know, merely huffed and asked why he still pays her. That silenced her.

There was something off about her… I sensed something existing inside her that she doesn't seem to know about.

The girl's partner walked off... Few moments later the girl collapsed and the site started shaking…

People began yelling and screaming…

"Everyone! Out of the chamber!"

"Move it! Move it!"

The girl was still on the floor, shaking. I went to her and tried to snap her out of her trauma.

"Hurry! The doors are closing!" One of the guards yelled at me.

"Come on… you'll die if you stay here…"

That seemed to wake her up she looked at the doors closing as if she had never seen it before.

"Hey! H-Hey! Wait up!"

She shouted as she tried to catch up with the others. We are too far away to get in already…

"The doors! Don't leave me here!"

If they could control the doors they would have already…

The doors shut in front of her and she started hammering her fist on it.

"Open up, will ya? Come on! Let me out of here!"

I sighed and shook my head…

"Is this any way to treat somebody? I know you can hear me! Open this tin can up!"

She sighed and relaxed down a bit, muttering, "I said we should go home, but did he listen to me? No…"

I walked up to her nervously

"Erm… Hello…" I stuttered, unsure whether she had calmed down. I hate dealing with excited people.

"Who are you?"

"Name's Aria."

She just turned and continued banging on the doors.

"There is someone else here! Let us out!"

"That won't do much; the doors aren't even controlled by them."

She continued on for a while before sighing in defeat

"Guess I wasn't the only one locked in here…"

"You're lucky there is a mercenary here to protect you." I countered.

"Any idea what all the fuss was about?" She just ignored me… I just shrugged.

"Yeah… me neither. Next thing I knew was that the place was empty. What should we do now?"

I looked into the other side of the doors.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Don't tell me you're thinking about going deeper in to this place?"

"What can we do? Standing around here wouldn't do much." I turned and faced her

"Are you crazy? This is a relic site. Who knows what could be down there?"

"You can stay here then."

"Not so fast! If you run off by yourself you could end up dead! Or worse!"

I ignored her and stared off. Strangely she ran after me, I gave her a questioning look.

"If you're going, I'm coming too!"

I didn't reply

"I don't think I caught your name before."

"Aria" I quickly replied

"Never woulda guessed. Nice to meet you, I'm Emilia Percival."

I quickened my pace and she sped up quickly.

"Like it or not, we're in this together." She said when she caught up. There was a hint of anger in her voice.

**One Sector later**

"You really are a mercenary" Emilia commented as I pulled out Exam from the corpse of a Evil Shark.

"What makes you say that?" I asked while searching through the corpse. I pulled out a Car Weave and examined it. It looks suitable enough to be used.

"You cleared that sector very quickly."

"Any mercenary could do that."

"I gotta admit, I'm relieved. With you around maybe I'll actually get out of here."

I stared at her for a moment, not believing what she said. She caught my look and explained.

"Sure, I may technically work at a mercenary company, but this fighting stuff isn't for me."

"Then why did you come here?" I questioned

"My boss dragged me into this death trap of a relic site because he says I'm lazy."

That isn't a good excuse…

She started getting angry about talking about her boss. Saying stuff like he doesn't care for her and how he gets under her skin.

"You're with me on this right?"

"He's your boss." I replied nonchalantly, "he has your paycheck."

"Oh sure, take his side!"

"A mercenary shouldn't get upset on small things like this, but if you want I could-" I tried to calm her down. But she interrupted

"No, it's okay, really. I'm used to it. No one takes anything I say seriously."

Getting used to people taking the other side? I'm starting to feel bad right now. I used to be like her after I left the GUARDIANS.

I apologized but she just waved me off.

"Whatever... Any ways, with your help. I should be able to make it out of here in one piece. Then he'll get a real earful!"

Real Earful, huh? I don't feel so bad after that.

We continued on for a while without anything major occurring.

"Come to think of it, have any relic sites ever gone active when the SEED weren't attacking."

"Some have, but it is really hard to say for sure." I replied

She then started muttering on concepts and ideas that I didn't pay attention to. It got me thinking that she should work as a teacher rather than a mercenary.

"Hey are you listening to me?" She shouted rather madly

"Are you an expert on relic sites? Because that would really help me next time I go to another relic site."

She seemed to take it as an insult rather than a compliment.

"You don't believe me do you?"

"You took that as an insult, but it is really a compliment. I do believe you."

"You do?" She said with surprise.

"This isn't really the time or place to chat around." I sighed.

"Yeah… Let's get out of here." She replied hastily.

**Seabed Relic Site Sector 3**

"How much more of this place do we have to search before we find a way out?" Emilia complained.

Me neither, but I doubt we would get out anything soon.

"All those machines are the site's automatic defense… I feel like ther're watching me. What if they went live? We better get out of here!" Her voice started getting more and more nervous.

"Calm down… We'll find the exit when we find it." I replied as I opened the next door.

Big mistake… A Svaltia activated and began chargin at us.

We immediately ran out of the room.

"You gotta to be kidding me!" She yelled at me.

I should have kept my mouth shut.

"We can handle that."

"Whadday mean 'handle this'? Don't tell me you're going to fight that thing?"

"Either that or it kills us."

She groaned in frustration before making a decision

"I'm with you, alright? We can handle it if you say so."

The Svaltia ran into the room and we circled it, hitting various parts of the machine. It kept swinging it axe like a madman, keeping us out of reach.

After sever successful attempts of damaging it, it jumped at me and I had to dodge the heavy machine. The Svaltia rush at me with the axe positioned like a spear. I was thrown towards the wall and rendered stunned. Emilia held herself against the machine, taking blows occasionally and throwing in some attacks too.

The Svaltia saw and opening in Emilia's defense and disarmed her. Emilia's eyes widen in shock and braced herself from the inevitable. By then I was charging at the Svaltia, Exam raised high and thrusted. It shuddered for a moment before collapsing backwards.

Emilia peeked out from her closed eyes.

"I'm alive?"

Mean while I was turning the machine over and retrieving my blade. I looked at her for a moment, letting her enjoy herself for the time being. The machine looked like my blow finished the job. I studied it for a moment before scavenging for any usable items.

When I had finished, I joined her and got her to calm down.

"We did it! We did it! The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" She yelled in excitement.

I merely smiled at her.

"Hey! I even got you to smile! This is the best day ever!" She began running round the room like a kid.

"That was really something! I knew you could do it! I knew it!" She shouted to my face.

Weren't you the one who thought I was crazy for fighting the Svaltia?

The sounds of machine alerted me of the Svaltia. It had rebooted and was ready to kill us.

Emilia was it first target

It charged at her, axe raise.

"Huh?"

Emilia saw the machine and froze.

Instincts kicked in, I pushed Emilia out of the way.

The axe came down and broke through my shield.

The claws swiped in next and my vision blacked out

I felt something behind my head…

I hear words but I can't make them out…

I tried to open my eyes…

"Why did you… Why did you do this?"

Who is there?

"It should be me lying there… Not you."

I see and blur of blonde and pink, but I can't make out who it is…

"Vivienne…?"

The copy CAST who is my partner… Is that her?

"I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill the promise"

"What? No! It's me! Emilia! Get up! Get up!"

Whatever she is saying is blurred to me, but I caught her name… Emilia

"Em…milia?"

"Why aren't you getting up? Get up!" She shook me harshly.

My eyes closed

"Come on, open your eyes! Just… Just open your eyes…"

It's a long pause before I heard any more words.

"It's not fair… Why is it always like this…"

Like… What?...

"Why do I always end up alone… " I feel wet drops on my face…

Is she crying? This… Emilia…?

I heard machinery moving… It's the machine that killed me…

"Run…" I barely uttered out

"No! I won't let you leave me like this! Please don't leave me alone!"

Alone…? Don't you have your family or friends...?

Whatever she said started becoming distorted…

"Come on…Wake up!….."

I feel my conscious draining from me, I can't hear her anymore…

Then a bright light envelopes me…

A voice comes to my head…

"You are not alone. I am with you… always…"

I feel the last of my strength disappearing and I lose consciousness.

This isn't the most fitting way to die, but I can't chose…


	2. Chapter 1 Act 2

**Little Wing Clad 6**

"… Pardonne… I Cannot"

My eyes creaked open and light fills my eyes. I am temporarily blinded from the light and blinked several times to adjust.

"Oui, Oui, Non. It was very kind of you to offer."

I reached out to grasps the white fabric that I'm seeing, but I only managed to brush my hands on it. It felt soft and silky.

"Perhaps next times, yes?" The fabric shifted counter clockwise.

I shifted my head upwards and was greeted by a pair of… breast?

I blinked my eyes several more times before I actually saw her properly.

"Oh! You 'ave awakened!"

"Where… Where am I…?" I asked

"One moment, if you please." She hushed me before calling over the 'Boss'.

Another figure fills up my view.

"What going on?" The gruff voice sounded familiar

"Our guest has woken up; perhaps you can get her up too?"

He nodded before shaking me violently, I felt like he would crush my bones before I wake up.

"I'm up! I'm up!" I yelled as I pushed him away. He went back to his seat after that, grumbling.

"Welcome to Little Wing." The lady replies cheerfully.

"Little Wing?" I repeated, trying to process the name.

"Yes, I am Chelsea, Enchante." She continued with flair.

"Nice to meet you" I greeted with a small bit of uncertainty.

"The pleasure is mine! How nice to meet someone who has not forgotten what manners are!" She went from graceful to excite.

"Monsieur Boss! Monsieur Boss! Our guest is awake." She called to the man again."

"Of course she's awake. Could you hang on a moment? I'm talking to somebody here." He replies rather angrily to Chelsea. What's with him?

It didn't sound like he was on the phone until he yelled 'Spoiled Brat!' to particularly no one. I turned to Chelsea for some enlightenment.

"Oh my… I suppose it is I who will explain…" She said with some disappointment. I nodded

She told me that we were in the offices of Little Wing on Clad 6 which was a resort company. Apparently Little Wing is a civilian security firm but there is more than that in my opinion. The Boss brought me here when he found me asleep at a relic site.

"Feelin' any better?" a rough voice belonging to the Boss asked me.

"Thank you for rescuing me." I replied with gratitude, "Yes, I do feel better now."

"You look like someone spit in your soup. Maybe I should fill you in on what's goin' on."

I nodded

"Hmm… Where to start?" He pondered for a minute before starting.

"Name's Kraz Muehler, and I run this mercenary outfit called Little Wing."

Told you there was something more than being a civilian security firm.

"It's more of a private security firm, but 'mercenary outfit' has a better ring to it."

This is the point where I got confused.

"You do both security and mercenary jobs?"

"We do private security for big shots with deeps pockets, run patrols around factories, that sorta thing. We were down at the relic site you were in to scout the place when all hell broke loose. So instead of a nice scouting mission, I ended up rescuing the idiots who got trapped inside."

That made me embarrassed,

"Sorry… I was one of them, right?"

"Hell yes you were. And the trouble was, you were carrying any ID."

I remember that I used to be a GUARDIAN; my ID might have been taken by them

"I couldn't exactly leave you how I found you, so here you are."

"What happened to the girl I was with?"

"Worried about her, are ya?"

I don't know… Something tells me that I was with a girl before I passed out.

The phone rang and Kraz listened to it for a moment.

"Well it's about time. Get yourself in here!"

I put two and two together, the girl I was with worked in this firm. What was her name? Emilia? I think so. She must have called Kraz to bring me back.

The doors of the office opened and a blonde girl came in while rubbing her temples.

"Give it a rest, boss. Today is not the day for this…" The girl replied, depressed.

She kind of sleepwalked towards us

"Don't you have any idea what I've been through?"

"Don't know, don't care. Save your whining for someone who does." Kraz replied angrily.

Ouch… That hurts.

"Can't you see we have company? Show some manners!"

The girl snapped out of her walk and apologized.

"Nice to meet—"

"Emilia?"

"Huh, how did you know—Wait a minute, you look familiar."

So her name was Emilia, thank god I remembered.

She thought about it for a while before it hit her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nice to meet you too…" I muttered.

"I thought—I mean – Shouldn't you be dead?"

That stunned me for a moment for Kraz replied in my stead

"Luckily, that's not up to you to decide. I swear that the things that come out of that mouth of yours…" He grumbled with more anger.

"You might have told me… This is how I find out?" She turned sharply towards Kraz.

"What do you mean? I'm not okay? I'm supposed to be dead?" I tried to get an answer

"Uhm… Not that I'm not glad you're okay. But after I blacked out, I don't remember anything until waking up here."

I turned to Kraz, wondering if she meant the truth, he just shrugged and shook his head.

"I must've dreamed the whole thing. Phew, talk about a load off!" She ranted happily.

I tried to recall what happened before I passed out… Slowly I began remembering…

The Seabed Relic Site… When it became live… teaming up with Emilia… The Svaltia…

I am supposed to be dead

I took the deathblow for Emilia

I just sat there, remembering with shock. Emilia and Kraz were discussing something I couldn't hear.

"You!"

"Yes?" I replied instinctively.

"You freelance right?"

"Not exactly"

"Not anymore, you're with us now."

"What?"

"Whoa, where'd that come from?" Emilia commented but was silenced from Kraz's look

"We aren't a big company, but for someone with your experience, we'd sign you on with a full bonus package. I'll even throw in a partner. She's not much, but she's better than nothing."

"How unusually generous of you" Emilia retorted.

"That would be you, knucklehead."

Huh? My experience? Full bonus package? Partner? What's going on?

"Err… What's going on?"

"Me?" Emilia practically yelled

"What do you say? No entrance exam, free partner – that's more than a fair offer!" Kraz ignored her statement. I turned to her and gave her my assumption

"Yes, pretty much." She replied dejectedly.

I gave the offer some consideration. Freelancing has become pretty difficult ever since the SEED were wiped out. Not only that, without my ID, I cannot access anywhere with ease. But on the other hand, I need to join other jobs that aren't exactly in my preference. But honestly, if I can't even save a girl without dying, I've gotten weaker and need to train more. Maybe those jobs could help me.

"I accept… I guess."

"Then it's settled! Welcome aboard!" Kraz congratulated me happily.

"Don't mention it… But I'm not sure if I can provide much help that you need."

"Don't worry… I even went ahead and took the liberty of preparing some quarters for you. Don't just stand there, Emilia! Escort your new partner to the living quarters. You two play nice, you hear?"

Emillia had been listening to our conversation and was pretty flared for being excluded from it.

"Don't I get any say who my partner is?" She fumed

"If you'd rather work solo, I suppose that could be arranged." Kraz just gave her the take it or leave it choice.

"That's… not what I meant…" She answered sadly.

"Then save that complaints for when you're actually ready to do some work on your own, Understood?"

She threw a tantrum

"Okay! Fine! You win! I'll wait for you outside the living quarters." She flared and left

I hope this won't happen too much during my partnership with her.

"Ugh… That girl has more lip on her than brains. Orders aren't up for debates." Kraz grumbled

"Monsieur Boss is too hard on the girl. You catch more bees with honey than vinegar." Chelsea told Kraz from across the office.

"If she worked more like a bee, then maybe she'd deserve some honey." He replied

"I don't know much about her…but I think you should cut her a little slack."

"So I'm supposed to let her get away with murder? What do I look like, good ol' Uncle Chump?"

"Not that slack…"

"Wait you didn't think the two of us were related, did you? That's a good one!"

I honestly don't know what he just meant

"Let me go ahead and set the record straight right here and now. She and I aren't related in any way, shape or form. I'm her boss; she's my employee – end of story."

You are related in terms of stubbornness

"What a thing to say! You are the girl's guardian!" Chelsea countered

"I only took the two of you in to settle a bar tab."

So we aren't wanted here…?

"You were the only one who keeps coming until the bar went out of business. I am grateful for all you have done for us, truly."

"To summarize it, you and Emilia aren't related." I try to end the pointless conversation

"Yep, I'm only her legal guardian."

That's still being related, but I won't say it since he is furious.

"That the only reason I keep her lazy, back-talking carcass around."

"It's not her fault that she's new, no?" Chelsea had come over by now.

"Huh? She is a new mercenary?"

"I don't want to get into a whole thing about the girl's past and frankly, I don't care. You just keep Emilia out of trouble, that's your job. If you are able to get her to the point where she actually pulls her own weight around here, even better. How you do it is up to you, just don't let me down." With that he stormed off.

"What was that all about?"

"Monsieur Boss has a sharp tongue, but Emilia is a good girl." Chelsea explained.

"It sounds more bias than sharp."

"Just be nice to her, and I am happy. Emilia will be happy and we will all be happy."

I nod to her statement and she smiled

"Now, Emilia is waiting for you outside the living quarters. Do not keep a lady waiting."

"She can wait a while more." I trailed off and walked towards Kraz.

Kraz noticed me heading towards him.

"You look like you got a question burning a hole in your pocket. You want to know about Emilia?"

I just nod

"The hostess who ran this bar I used to go to told me she needed a guardian… and the rest is history."

"And you volunteer? Why?"

"Er… Well… I might have a tab that needed paying and she mighta threatened to turn me over to the GUARDIANS. I dunno where Emilia came from. The hostess found her lying in an alley one day. She was taking care of her, but she didn't know anything else other than her age and name…."

He continued on for a while, ranting about her bad points.

"…I'd kick her out if I could, but they'd take me to the cleaners if I toss her on the street without a foster family lined up. I was just hoping to get her to do enough work to at least feed herself. That's when you showed up. She gotta pull her own weight or she'll drag both of us down. I ain't expecting any miracles; just get her up and running, 'kay? Enough of me ranting, go check out yer own room, we can talk business after that. Chelsea has everything ready."

"Okay."

I exited the office and immediately was blocked by a man clad in dark armor. I recognized him as the mercenary I talked to at the Seabed Relic Site.

"You… We met at the Seabed Relic Site, didn't we? You remember?"

"Yeah, I believe I didn't ask for your name."

"Vasque, so you're with this crew too eh? Kraz saw me helping out with the rescue efforts at the site and asked me over."

"And you accepted?"

"When I heard there weren't background checks on anyone here, I was worried… but so far so good, eh? If I'm worried about anything, it's our fearless leader's attitude towards work. I'm sure he got his reasons, but still…"

"It's not our business as mercenaries; we do what we're told."

"Yeah… Tell you what. If we ever get put out on an assignment together, I'll watch your back if you watch mine."

"Right." We shook hands before splitting.

"Hey Vasque!" a female voice sounded, she gave me a one-over before continuing

"Haven't seen you around. We're recruiting again any way and I guess Kraz finally got his behind into gear."

I know Kraz is lazy and all… But not that lazy…

"Name's Kunoh. I'm with Little Wing, which makes me your superior now. We don't ask question about what you did before you joined us, but after you're in, you only go as far as you achieve. Don't think you got what it takes? Then take off."

I'll keep that in mind…

"Seeing how you didn't flinch just now, I'm guessing you do think you have what it takes. Don't worry, I'm on your side as long as you're on mine. Drop by anytime."

"Hey!" Emilia shouted from the living quarters

"Nice meeting you guys, but I got to go now." I told them before leaving.

"Yeah, nice meeting you too." Kunoh huffed.

"Nice to see you again." Vasque called.

"Sorry…" I apologized to Emilia.

"It's about time… Can we get this over with now? I need some shut eye."

She turned around and led me to my room. This whole living quarters is like a maze…

She gave me a brief tutorial before sleeping on my bed. She must really be tired…

I tried to wake her up but she just waved me off

I decide to change back into my old suit since my current suit is badly damaged…

There isn't much to do now so maybe I'll go do some jobs.

I turned around and was about to open the door when a voice echoed in my head

"Wait"

I turned around, looking for whoever is speaking to me.

"It should be safe to speak here."

Emilia stood up and breathed out. She started glowing and another being came into existence.

"I am Mika, an entity of pure consciousness. I have chosen this girl as my vessel."

Emilia then fell back onto the bed

"The form you see before you is a product of technology lost long ago."

Then why is it happening now? Mika read my thoughts and answered

"The people of your time call it the technology of the Ancients, which would make me an Ancient. In the distance past, my people lived in this system. We were the first."

"Is Emilia okay? What did you do to her?" I asked her

"She was exhausted, but now she sleeps. Do not worry, she will awaken soon. I am only borrowing her for a short time while she rest. Please listen to what I have to say as I do not have long."

I merely nodded since I can't do anything to help Emilia currently.

"I have studied Emilia's memories to learn about your time. Three years ago, a great calamity befell the Gurhal System—the attack of the SEED."

I nodded again, thinking about my part in the battle.

"That was not their first attack; they came in my time as well."

I was shocked on hearing that

"It was the height of our civilization. The SEED Invasion pushed us to the brink of ruin. The battle was long, but in the end we triumph like you did, banishing the SEED and their leader, Dark Falz. But victory came too late. The planets of our system were aready tainted by the SEED. Not even our bodies were spared. The taint of the SEED left nothing untouched."

That's why there are no more Ancients…

"It was only a matter of time before our system and all who lived here perished. So the Ancients risked everything on a grand venture that would span the ages: Project Renaissance."

I sat of the floor, absorbing everything she said. They might prove useful next time.

"First, we purified the Gurhal System of the Seed, restoring the planet to their former glory. Next we created a new race of men and loosed them on the pristine world. Finally, we Ancients shed our tainted flesh and became beings of thought. Our work done, we passed into sleep. We slept, and waited – waited for the day our children would rise as we had, so that we might steal their bodies for our own."

Steal our bodies for their own purpose? I was shivering deep down but I asked her to continue.

"As time passed, all went according to the plan. The civilization of the men we created grew and prospered. Their technology advanced, until finally they unlocked the secrets that would lead them to our place of slumber. These new races of men – called humans – are our children, and they have fallen into the trap laid so long ago by the Ancients."

"What do you mean…"

"I know you must find this hard to believe, but it is the truth. And so I ask for your help to stop this dreadful plan from happening."

"What about Emilia?"

"The one you call Emilia will not hear me. Her heart and mind are closed

"Then why do you want to stop the plan? It will grant you a new body, don't you want that?" I nervously asked.

"Though I am an Ancient, I have no desire to be reborn in this time. Our destruction was our fate and our time has passed."

"But why ask me? A stranger?"

"You and I are not the strangers you might think. Ask yourself: Why can we talk as we do? What bond do we share?"

I wasn't aware of those questions at that point. But when she voice her thought I started wondering too… Could I be an ancient? Could others see Mika like me? What does she mean by closed hearts and mind?

"When the automaton attacked you in the relic site, was it real?"

That sentence froze me… It felt too real… If she knew about it, it must be… it could be from Emilia's memory… but what about that voice that talked to me. You are not alone? It didn't feel like she was talking to me, but to Emilia. Even Vasque knows about me going to the relic site. Kraz found me unconscious with Emilia too… could it be I just lost conscious? I glanced at the blood-soak outfit that I wore during the attack… The Svaltia was strong enough to break through now only my shield but my armor too…

"Am I even alive…? That actually happened… right? Where did the Svaltia go to?"

It did… The Svaltia destroyed your flesh before its destruction. You have experienced true death. And it was Emilia's wish that activated my program and allowed me to reconstruct your broken body. Even now, we—she will awaken soon. You and I will speak again…" Mika quickly vanished after that.

Emilia… the reason I died once… the one who sees death more than most ordinary people… The vessel of Mika…

Emilia yawned as she woke up …

"Guess I dozed of there."

She noticed me staring at her

"Um… Why are you staring at me?"

I don't think she will react happily if I told her what happened to her, so I made a excuse quickly.

"I was watching you sleep" I shrugged and looked at the window.

"That's just creepy! Next time I fall asleep, wake me up!"

"Got it." I muttered

"Ewwww… …" She complained to herself…

She got up and left my room, motioning me to follow her.

"Let's see, I guess I should show you your ship next. You're all set up to use the transporter. It'll take you straight to the bridge. It right at the center, go on give it a try."

"How do I activate it?"

"Step into the middle and tap your left foot twice on your twice."

I did as she said and found myself at a ship that supposed to be mine.

"This is the ship you'll use for work. She's company property, so take good care of her." Emilia continued as she teleported up herself.

"How did you teleport up here?"

"We're partners, remember?"

Oh, I guess it makes sense for her to teleport up here too.

"People you add in your party will also be able to teleport up here once you register them onto your ID card. Over there's the terminal with all available missions. Chelsea can fill you in on the details later" She explained as she turned around and pointed at a globe in front of us.

"Basically, I use the ship to take myself to any location the mission calls for?"

"Pretty much."

"Do you know about the Ancients?"

"They've been dead for ages. Why?" Was her reply.

What she didn't know was that an ancient was residing in her.

"You've been staring at my forehead for some time now; do I have something stuck up there?"

"You have an Ancient living inside yourself. It talked to me, so I was curious about what you know about them."

"Wait! Wait, let me get this straight. There's an ancient living inside me?"

"I'm not sure, but I think so."

"Like a tumor? I'd probably noticed something like that. As if our adventure in the relic site wasn't enough, now you have to go making this up?"

"Am I being weird?" I asked softly

"Yes you are. If an Ancient talked to you, it must be a dream. And if that's all you want to talk about, we might as well be working. Here my partner card by the way. Don't forget I've been with the company longer than you, so that means I'm in charge."

"Yes ma'am"

"Hmm, no. Don't like the sound of that." She mused for a moment before continuing, "Forget I said anything. Just keep treating me the way you have and we'll get along fine, alright?"

I just nod

"Phew, talk about a full day. I'm tired already."

"Sorry."

"It's your first job with the company, right? Sorry it had to start out like this, with your hallucinations and all. No need to get in to that again since the main thing is that we are both safe."

I nod again before scanning through the list of mission we can take currently. Most of them are D-ranked mission. But I hardly know the average rating of the mission Little Wing gets."

"Uhm…" Emilia's voice attracted me to look at her.

"I'm not sure how to say this. But, if it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be trapped in that. But more than that, you believe me."

I believe you, yet you don't believe me.

"In my dream, that is." She added with a giggle.

How I wish I could tell her that that wasn't a dream, that what happened was real. But that would make her feel guilty of me dying because of her.

"Real or not, it still made you happy right?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah… Now I think you've heard enough about me for one day. Next time you're in the hot seat." She yelled with joyful authority.

"We're partner now; we have to get to know each other." I replied

"Yeah! I can't wait for you to tell me about your life." She babbled excitedly before teleporting down to the Little Wing Headquarters.

I smiled to myself and look back at the sphere again. As much as I hate to, I can't tell too much about me being an Ex-GUADIAN, partnering with a copy CAST or about Mika. The former being that the GUARDIANS could throw me in prison if word comes out, the latter two would result in Emilia losing trust in me.

I frowned as I selected a mission to attempt. Not only was the was I unable to accept any mission, but the fact that the most interesting part of my life had to be excluded for safety purposes was saddening. Everybody likes to boast of their fame, beside I doubt she'll believe me if I trained myself to that level. She probably pressurizes me into slipping my tongue.

I think this was how Ethan Waber felt when the illuminus manipulated him into an attempt assassination against Obel Dallgun. He couldn't talk about his life in GUARDIAN to me until I proved my trust.

I sighed and called Chelsea, who answers almost immediately.

"Allo Aria, What can I do for you?"

"Is my registration completed yet?

"Give me a moment… It is now."

"So now I can accept missions?"

"Oui, Oui"

"Thanks"

"You are a full member of Little Wing. We are all counting on you! If Monsieur Boss has a special job for you, I will contact you tout de suite."

"Alright." Was the last word I said before heading back down to the Undersea Ruins.


	3. Chapter 1 Arc 1

What are disclaimers for? I do no own Phantasy Star Portable 2 nor its characters except for Aria

Author's Note: Arcs are basically free missions done before the start of another story missions. I use these to explain more on Aria's Story and interacting with the members of Little Wing.

**Clad 6**

_Emilia's POV_

I headed back to Aria's room after teleporting down the ship. I collapsed onto the bed, exhausted.

There wasn't any rest for me unfortunately. Shortly after I closed her eyes, the beeping sound of the phone woke me up.

"Hello?"

"It's Kraz; can you get your partner to the office with you?"

"Uh… Why can't you contact her directly?" Kraz snorted at my reply

"Paperwork, I got a mission for both of you. Now get your ass down here along with hers!" Kraz was getting mad quick.

I jumped off the bed and headed to the portal. I tapped my foot twice and waited for the all-too-familiar blue light from the portal.

Nothing came; I tapped my left foot twice more.

As the time passed, I got more frustrated. If nothing happens after you tried twice, either you were removed from the mercenaries or your partner left without you. Since I was assigned a partner recently, I doubt it was the former. That only means…

I shouted out in frustration, first day with a new partner and she went missing on me…

**Seabed relic site**

_Aria's POV_

Many questions filled my mind as I hacked and slashed my way through another pair of Evil Sharks. Mika told me that I died, how can I die when I am here, fighting through the place where she said I died at? I came here with two reasons only: To find out whether I did die and to find and eliminate the Svaltia causing terror among the merchants according to the mission.

I searched through the remains of the Evil Shark, finding a Shark Puppet along with another saber. I wished I could just ask Mika to prove that I did die, but she can't if Emilia's awake. Hence I decide to head down to the relic site again to find any trails.

My search did prove useful; I found a puddle of blood before those Evil Sharks appeared. Analyzing it showed that it was a few weeks old. Either it could be my blood or the site went live another time ending like us again. I took a snapshot with my cell phone and collected a vial of it. Also, I found what looks to be charred remains of another Svaltia.

You're probably wondering why I keep such an outdated technology. I only keep it because it can take photos of things suspicious or interesting. I don't think it is possible to install a camera to the Car-Weave or the wireless phone. Bringing a camera is bulky and takes a long time to operate. So the cell phone is used only to take photos, it's quick, easy and accurate. No need to look for quality when you're not a photographer.

After the encounter with the two Evil Sharks, I found a couple of boxes. One contained another Car-Weave while the other had a monomate. There wasn't space for another monomate so I took that pill before entering the other door.

The next room was rather spacious. I looked around the room. It was supported by four visible pillars, all pretty far apart. I wondered why there wasn't another pillar in the middle.

Sounds made from machines notified me of a Svaltia. I turned around to see a charging Svaltia heading my direction. I nimbly rolled out of the way and swung my saber when possible, resulting in a nasty cut on its back. It 'roared' in pain and swung its axe around, allowing me to dash in from its blind spot and delivered several more cuts. The back must be a weak spot, I thought to myself. I tried to approach it's blindside again but it stopped moving. I thought it was going to drop soon and let my guard down.

A shockwave rippled through my being, stunning me for a while, since when could machine cast Technic? Maybe it wasn't really a Technic but still, shockwaves? My vision was blurred and I did anticipate the Svaltia running towards me. The blow did alert me of the Svaltia again and I circled it, waiting for an opportunity. I darted between its blows, damaging it bit by bit. The Svaltia slowed down more and more until it couldn't catch up to me anymore.

I went in full out, switching to another saber, I rammed it into the cut on its back and retreated quickly. Switching to another saber, I waved through the furious machine's onslaught and jammed it into the neck. Finally I brought up my Exam and swung down, cutting through it like knife through butter. It didn't fall quietly or quickly, and somehow angled its body so that it'll collapse on me. I didn't manage to dodge it, but I managed to prevent myself from getting crushed. I had to consume a dimate this time. Searching through its body didn't prove anything useful, but I'll get richer after this.

On the trip home, I ran through my finds, the spare sabers that I used on the Svaltia was used to remove the head of Svaltia. It never be rising up anymore or it'll destroy itself quickly with the damage done. I flipped my cell phone and scanned the two pictures I took inside the ruins, trying to playback the memory of what exactly happened. I recalled getting stabbed by a Svaltia, but why are there charred remains of Svaltia? Even the Rafoie couldn't burn a Svaltia that badly. I guess it might be a Laser Cannon or a Grenade, but this is the only time where I could actually see something like this.

In my thoughts, I didn't notice Emilia had teleported up to me, murderous intent filled her eyes. When I did… let's just say she beat me up good. Thank god the ship is sound proof and all, or else I think the whole universe could hear us yelling.

When Emilia was done with me, I was in pain all over. She even brought up her saber while attacking me. Emilia had gone from the raging girl to the sweet, little, innocent girl attitude and was healing me bit by bit. She still looked angry with me.

"Kraz was yelling at me for being unable to find you, how do you think I felt?"

My guess was frustrated, but I kept my mouth shut, else she just rampage on me again.

"Where did you go? I mean, even if your partner isn't available, you have to bring your Synth along to report what you are doing."

She finished healing me and got me back on my feet. I tested my limbs for any damages she didn't heal.

"You are a good healer."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, now let's go to Kraz before he gets anymore mad at us."

I merely nodded. Just before we teleported down, Emilia's phone rang. She looked at the caller's ID for a moment before sighing

"This isn't going to be good news. Aria, I need to answer this call. Go on first"

I wonder what's going on for a moment, she had another boss? I listened in for a while

"He told me that he paid his tab this month… That might be true, but still…"

That told me pretty much what I wanted to know. I left the ship and strolled towards the offices.

"Well, well, looks like you've been stuck with quite the cleanup detail."

I stared at him for a moment, trying to make sense of what he just said. He noticed my confused expression and continued.

"I mean your partner, Emilia. How you plan on dealing with her?" I catch on quickly and told him my answer.

"She lacks motivation based on the relic site, so I should find a way to motivate her."

"How are you planning to do that?"

"I don't know…" I shrugged, "Anything that can motivate her right? Just find an objective for her." He nods in approval.

"Good luck with that."

I just nod my head and watched Vasque take his leave.

"So… you're Emilia's bodyguard eh?"

I jumped and turned around; Kunoh was standing very close to me, an amused smile on her face.

"From where I'm sitting, looks like you drew the short straw."

"You mean she's not mercenary material?"

"Not that Emilia's a lost cause. She'll do fine with the proper guiding hand. Meaning…" She doesn't need to elaborate.

It's all in my hands now…

"What's the first thing to do about her?" I asked her

"The gal negative inertia, you know what I'm saying?"

She wants me to change Emilia's negative attitude? I was thinking something else, wonder why she brings that up first.

"You wonder why I am so wise in the ways of the E-m-i-l-i-a. It's because they asked me to train her before."

This lady was Emilia's teacher? I doubt she could survive something like that. Kunoh seems to be a very strict person.

"How it go?" I hesitantly asked

"How it go? Great… For, like, three hours. She gave up on the first day. And I was going easy on her, honest."

I wonder how the trainees are like when you're serious then… She sighs and continues

"I'm not trainer material. People don't like me; I'm too strict and domineering. Not like you, seeing you being dragged by Emilia. I think you're worse than me."

What a great first impression… I slumped and brought my hand to my head.

"She practically attacked me…"

"It's a good thing you didn't fight back then. She was my student once. So I'll take it personally if you attacked back, got it?"

I was about to give a sarcastic comment but Emilia teleported down.

"Aria! You should be at the office!"

"Sorry, I better go now."

"Right... If you still want to join us in a mission just call us!"

I waved back as I tailed Emilia.

"Who was that call for? I thought you didn't have that many friends?"

"The boss, his calls are forwarded to me if he doesn't answer."

"My guess was that it was from a bar, am I right?"

"Is there anyone who doesn't know? Half the calls we get are from bars trying to get him to pay up. It gets old fast. He says I don't work enough, but most days he's off in some bar by noon."

Talk about pot calling the kettle black.

"I'm not saying he has to work dawn to dusk, but he could put in an honest day's work every now and then. Some guardian, eh? I better give the message…"

We walked in silence for a while before I asked a question

"What kind of work can you do other that mercenary request?"

She didn't hear me properly and asked me to repeat.

"I can work… I mean, I haven't held one job for very long, but that doesn't mean—"

"That does mean…" She sighed and continued in a dejected manner

"Look… I'm sure the perfect job for me is out there, somewhere. I just have to be patient, so cut me some slack, okay?"

"Let rephrase that sentence; what do you really want to do?"

"What indeed…" She wondered to herself before realizing what we just conversed about

"You know, I don't I've ever even wondered about it. People always told me what to do.…"

"What about your room? Don't you clean your own room?"

"I wish I had my own room." She replied.

Adopting a daughter and then not take care of her? What are you, Kraz? Some kind of demon?

"I'm sure it's tough looking out for yourself all the time, but I'm stuck with the boss of all people!" She whined, "He doesn't cook, do laundry or clean… Ever! I have to do everything! Heh…At least now I have a place to hide when things get bad." Her attitude perked up at the last sentence.

"Where are you suggesting?" I acted dumb

"Your room, of course!" She squealed, but I shook my head.

"C'mon, we're partners now. Try having a little partnership!"

"We had to have a partner in GUARDIAN." I muttered, thinking about where Vivienne might be...

"What?"

"It's nothing." I replied, realizing my mistake. She, though, caught a little of what I said.

"I'm pretty sure you said something. You wouldn't reply so quickly if you weren't hiding something. I heard something about GUARDIAN, were you a part of them?" She glared at me, like as if she was trying to melt me with her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" I tried to cover my slip up.

"No, don't try to slip out of this one—"

"Weren't we summoned by Kraz?"

"Oh! You're right… but you and I are going to have a long talk after that." Emilia stared at me, a wry smile on her face… I can't think of what she might be thinking.

**_Chapter 1 Complete_**


	4. Chapter 2 Prologue

A/N: Sorry for the long Hiatus… I kind of lost motivation last year… I'll try to update this more often. It is still on Hiatus. I'm posting this since it was complete long ago.

**Umiki:** Vivienne is alive. Both Aria and Vivienne split up to search for the Illuminius.

**KamikorosuXP: **Yes, I'm planning to add other stuff along with it. It would mostly be tied to the story plot too.

* * *

><p>"<em>Anna, I want to talk to you"<em>

"_So you've heard about it"_

"_Yeah… Are you really going to leave?"_

"_The GUARDIANs made their decision. I have to leave by the week."_

"_It's not fair… You saved the system… You don't deserve this."_

"_I broke the rules… They have the right to punish me."_

"_But—"_

"_Don't worry; we'll still see each other. Even if we can't talk to each other, there are other ways to communicate."_

"_Yeah… But it won't be the same without you… Ethan's gone, now you're going too! It's going to be lonely here…"_

"_Then make new friends… Make yourself comfortable here."_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Destroyer in black, Son of Destruction<strong>

**Little Wing, Clad 6**

"Zut alors! The news is over already? How can that be?" Chelsea exclaimed as we entered the office.

"What's the big deal?" Emilia and I questioned simultaneously. We stared at each other…

"They said nothing about Skyclad!" Chelsea explained, attracting our attention again.

"Why? It's not like Skyclad sponsored anything to the public other than mercenary jobs, right?" I asked, confused as Chelsea glared at me.

"We did sponsor the subspace program! And after all the money we spent on the subspace program, our name should be in lights!" Chelsea clarified while waving her hands dramatically… I nod frantically as she eyed me, silently asking if I understood.

"It won't do much to help business around here anyway, we're just a subsidiary." Emilia sighed, either in relief or disappointment. She cleared her throat and continued, "But we're not here to talk PR. Is the boss around?"

Chelsea took a deep breath to calm down

"Mais oui. In fact, Monsieur Kraz was just asking where the two of you were. I just… saw the news and completely forgot." She sighed.

"Don't worry about it." Emilia said reassuringly, she turned to me.

"He's inside, huh? I thought I was ready for anything when we set out, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not ready for this one." She started out calmly, but started to break down.

I am not sure how to respond…

"Well… Since you are going to see him anyway, could you take this to him?" Chelsea interrupted politely, breaking the silence.

"Uh… sure… a receipt from… Rich Velvet Lingerie, Dagora City? ... That doesn't sound like much of a business expense…" Emilia muttered.

"The head office agrees with you. They will not reimburse it. Tell him it will be coming out of his own pocket!" Chelsea snickered.

"That… Dirty old… No wonder he can't afford to pay his bar tabs! What's he thinking?!" Emilia fumed; I can see fire blazing out of her...

"Take it up with him, Chelsea is not part of the complaint department." I sighed…

Emilia snatched the receipt from Chelsea and marched up to Kraz instantly.

"We need to talk—pew wee! Are you drinking or bathing in it?" Emilia complained.

Kraz wasn't paying any attention to us until Emilia kicked his seat.

"Oh? There you are. I've—"

"Don't 'there you are' me! You got another called from a bar asking you to pay up! And care to explain this?" Emilia shouted

"One of my receipts, what are you doing with that?" Kraz questioned.

"You didn't think they'd let you expense this, did you? Have you drowned all of your common sense?" Emilia interrogated. Talk about pot calling the kettle black again.

"That's completely legit!" Kraz countered, "You gotta lay the groundwork before closing the deal!"

Emilia opened her mouth to shoot back, but closed it when she couldn't come up with anything.

"Now if you don't mind, we have business to discuss." Kraz continued. Emilia merely glared angrily at him.

"Cheer up; it's the perfect job for both of you. Well, more like you since Aria here can take care of any mercenary jobs herself." Kraz smirked, looking at Emilia. "This is an urgent, top-of-the-action-item-list sort of job. There's somebody we need to track down."

Either this is a mercenary job, or a personal job. Given that Emilia is suited for this, I think it is the latter.

"A missing person search? Who is it? A witness in a murder trial? Some corporate bigwig?" Emilia asked, her imagination running wild.

"… Not quite, it's someone I loaned money to a while back, and you're going to collect." Kraz explained.

Told you… One… Two… Three…

"This job is from you?! Go find him yourself!" Emilia snapped.

"Can it, you! Because someone around here botched up a job at a certain relic site, we can't get any real work!" Kraz angrily replied.

"When you put it that way…" Emilia sighed… unhappily.

"Good, your target is one Wurley Kokov. Male beast, age fifty-one. His ship's been sighted in the Crodog region of Moatoob. No city, no casinos… It's the last place I'd expect him to be."

"If you know where he is, why don't you just go find him yourself?" Emilia muttered.

"What was that?"

"Ah, nothing! Nothing! Come on Aria; let's get out of here before the fumes start getting to us!" Emilia cheekily replied, dragging me along.

"Kraz has you off collecting his debts? Pull your act together Kraz!" a blue haired woman yelled behind us.

Kraz sighed to himself, "can't believe they won't let me expense this, and there is still three more coming'."

Emilia slowed down as we passed by Chelsea.

"Gee, Chelsea. You always seem so happy when you're working! Kraz wants us to collect his debt again. Where does he get off?! Do we look like his personal bill collectors to you?" Emilia sighed, "Wished my job was like yours! Must be nice not to go out at all… Maybe I should be a receptionist too."

"Oh yes, you could be!" Chelsea replied, smiling. "You'd just have to learn to smile a big smile at tout le gens, you know? Even the complainy whiney ennuyeux ones! Especially them!"

"Smiley, huh?" I wondered how Emilia would pull that off.

"Oui, oui. A smile for the poor client with a problem. A smile for the clients who are problems themselves. Hee hee."

"Uh… oh, I don't know about that then… I'm pretty easy to read." Emilia said thoughtfully. "You must be used to smiling all the time, being hostess and all."

"Non, non! My smile is not for show. I smile always from le Coeur! The heart! Tu sais?"

"Oh… Come to think of it, why do you work two jobs dealing with people? You're a hostess and our receptionist, right?"

"Parce que I enjoy it! And I want to save up enough money to start my own bar! And maybe hire my friends from my old job." Chelsea replied excitedly

"Well… if you like it so much, it must be fun for you… I just can't see it." Emilia pondered.

"What about the drunks that gets too touchy feely? Or the guys who think they're the hottest thing to ever hit the system? Don't—"

"But these are the people who give us work, non?" Chelsea interrupted.

"All these people have their own work, yes? But something draws them to us, and keeps them near. You should hear the stories they tell me! All the pressures, the things that they cannot say, they say to me. "

"I want them to smile, so they can go back to their jobs with light hearts and a coily bounce in their steps!" Chelsea sighed dreamily.

"I have much gratitude for our working customers, and in my work, I can show it to them! With my smile, you see?"

"Hm… I guess I do. I think you're just really cut out for this kind of work. It's like your dream job."

"Oui, oui, I think so too." Chelsea agreed, "Even the little jobs are important. If Monsieur Boss needs something done, who are we to say no?"

I merely nod my head before speaking to Emilia.

"Emilia, I need to do something, why don't we split from here?"

"Huh? Oh… sure…" Emilia seemed disappointed. "I'll be in your room."

* * *

><p><strong>Science department, Clad 6<strong>

I walked into a lab as a male beast came up to me.

"We get all sorts here, from people in it to make the world a better place to people in it for money. Which are you?"

"Erm…" I thought to myself, "I'm here to make the world a better place… I guess…" I spoke.

"Good to know, I hate dealing with those here for money. Name's Cludo" The male beast introduced himself.

"Aria. No last name." I replied.

"So… what are you here for?" Cludo asked

"I found some dried blood at one of my missions, can you analyze it?"

"Sure, I'll be done with the results after your mission" Cludo replied as I walked off to meet up with Emilia.

**Chapter 2 Prologue Complete**


End file.
